What is proximate cause in legal terms?

Proximate cause refers to the legal concept that establishes a direct link between a party's breach of duty and the harm that resulted from that breach. In tort law, for a plaintiff to succeed in a negligence claim, they must demonstrate that their injury was a foreseeable result of the defendant's actions or failure to act. This means there should be a clear relationship between the actor's conduct and the outcome.

In cases of negligence, proximate cause helps determine whether the wrongdoing directly led to the event or harm in question and whether it was a foreseeable consequence of that action. It serves to limit liability to those consequences that bear a reasonable relationship to the actions taken, ensuring that defendants are held accountable only for the harms that are directly related to their conduct. This concept is essential for preventing potentially limitless liability where every action could be blamed for any resulting harm.